Where do YOU go from here?

[Mikeg175]

My motto is " prepare for the future , but live like today is going to be my last ! " . I have set up my budget to buy my SHTF preps , put aside for my son's future , put aside for my future , and then I blow the rest as I feel like it . I don't want to live life looking over my shoulder and worrying about all the little things , I want to prepare for it , but enjoy life while I am able to enjoy the little things , so when SHTF , I can look back and tell the youngsters blah blah blah about the good ole days . I try to make my a lot of my preps fun also , I am building my GOOD vehicle and Im enjoying it , it is costing me tons upgrading a lot of perfectly good parts ( which I keep for spares ) , but I know when I need it , it will run like a top . I didn't just go ok , the cheap steel rims , will cost blah , the nicer looking aluminum ones cost blah , I went for function and form , so it makes it enjoyable . At least this is my opinion , even storing food can be fun and keeping it safe . Going to the range to keep my shooting up to par is fun , so is camping and keeping those skills up . Try to make your preps fun and enjoyable , disguise them as something else and people won't even know your doing it . So you can enjoy your friends , family and prep and they wont know .

[monkeybird]

I've been reading this thread carefully. I've never been one to panic. I usually handle the emergency - then fall apart after it's over. So I observe the events happening right now rather analytically. Weighing the opinions of people I trust. People on the forum are some of those people.

Things have gotten so bad in our world that the FIRST thing I do when I wake up is check the news! That is how unstable I believe the world has become.

[monkeybird]

I've been reading this thread carefully. I've never been one to panic. I usually handle the emergency - then fall apart after it's over. So I observe the events happening right now rather analytically. Weighing the opinions of people I trust. People on the forum are some of those people.

Things have gotten so bad in our world that the FIRST thing I do when I wake up is check the news! That is how unstable I believe the world has become.

[rice paddy daddy]

I absolutely agree with lowdown. We should be concerned, and be prepared to be self sustaining for a period of time, but not to the point that we panic, thinking the entire country will collapse tomorrow.
Like a few others here ( I know, I've met you:cool: ), I'm at, near, or approching geezerdom and have lived thru some tense times in the history of America. The civil rights riots, where people were getting clubbed in the streets, tear gassed, bitten by police dogs, and worse when no one was looking. The anti Vietnam war riots, where, again, people were getting beaten and worse by cops and "hard hats." Large portions of many cities going up in flames, home grown terrorists robbing banks, blowing up buildings and killing cops. The National Guard killing students. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968. The "Days of Rage." The Carter adminisration almost ruining our economy. Gasoline shortages and rationing. And more. Much more. Just within my lifespan. And my parents lived thru this, plus the Great Depression and WWII as well.
And yet, we are still here! We, as a Nation, endured all that and perservered.
But we must be ready for hard times, my friends.
Do not panic, be resolute.

[2682nscovell]

being concerned is a good thing, being a crazed worrier is another.

I look at it at this perspective... What kind of father and husband would I be if something happened and my wife looked at me for answers and all I could say was "I just don't know what to do" or "I wasn't ready for this." Those are excuses that I would like not to be submitted to.

[2682nscovell]

oh and to add...

I would rather continually supply and protect my children than dying for or with them

[rice paddy daddy]

I would like to add that I have met lowdown and several other young members of this board (and another like it), and adding in my kids and step-kids, I have no doubt this country WILL perservere. Ya'll give me hope!

[Knobster]

Good thread. I've been prepping for over 2 years now but the events over the past few months are really starting to concern me. I know I'll never reach a point where I can plop down on the couch and declare, "I'm ready". I can only continue to prep a little every day and keep hoping/praying for the best.

[BeckyinTX]

We will definately be assessing where we are with our preps this weekend. I've been working extra shifts to "fast forward" our preps so we're making good progress. Still need to finish organizing everything & then do an official count. I am so glad we started on this 2 years ago or we would be so freaked out right about now. I've been listening to the news more lately too & at times of the day that I usually don't. I watch prices more closely. I pay more attention when the "average Joe" is talking about politics, prices, etc. Not freaking out, just keeping a real close eye on the "vital signs" of the country while making sure I have the necessities to resuscitate my family's life & be an asset to my neighborhood, community, state, & country if necessary.

[WiseOwl]

being concerned is a good thing, being a crazed worrier is another.

I look at it at this perspective... What kind of father and husband would I be if something happened and my wife looked at me for answers and all I could say was "I just don't know what to do" or "I wasn't ready for this." Those are excuses that I would like not to be submitted to.

Man I tell myself that all the time. The only reason I have started prepping is because of my wife, my son and my bun (son) in the oven. I was so caught up on the "2012 and uncontrolable stuff" years ago that I started retaining skills and knowledge about going "Chris McCandless" and heading Into The Wild alone to fend for myself. Then reality and common sense hit. All that stuff in not in my control. Even though if I was solo, I could pull a Jeremiah Johnson, or atleast I am confident that I could.
Now over the last 2 years I have started stocking camping and hiking gear, gardening like crazy, storing what food I work into my budget and getting my wife up to date with S going on in the world.
She thought I was crazy when I read her chapters of Behold A Pale Horse. She thought I was nuts when I started loading my closet down with bullets. But now she realizes that I would protect my family from anyone or anything no matter what.
If I could just get her into ordering #10 Cans of goodies, buying more guns and stockpiling stuff............very soon!

[Cimarron]

I look at it at this perspective... What kind of father and husband would I be if something happened and my wife looked at me for answers and all I could say was "I just don't know what to do" or "I wasn't ready for this." Those are excuses that I would like not to be submitted to.

I have had those perspectives too. If I could see that there was a good chance of something happening and I took no precaution/action to prepare for the situation I'm not taking verry good care of my family's future.
And when my wife first questioned why we have to do all of this stuff because it might never happen I reply "We don't, in fact let's cancel our house and car insurance too cause we may vever need it. Oh yeah, and let's take all the spare tires out of the vehicles so we'll have more cargo space because we probably won't have a flat".

If I decided to ignore the many red flags of our current social, and economical state and do nothing, that's my decision and I am gambeling on things not happening. If/when the bottom falls out and I chose not to prep..that would awful foolish...I can handle making mistakes and learning from them but I don't like it when I am foolish.

Foolish is a bitter drink.

[Bearman202]

I have had those perspectives too. If I could see that there was a good chance of something happening and I took no precaution/action to prepare for the situation I'm not taking verry good care of my family's future.
And when my wife first questioned why we have to do all of this stuff because it might never happen I reply "We don't, in fact let's cancel our house and car insurance too cause we may vever need it. Oh yeah, and let's take all the spare tires out of the vehicles so we'll have more cargo space because we probably won't have a flat".

I like what the woman who writes the apartment prepper site said. She says that when it comes up, whether to prepare or not, she agrees with the people who say that it may never happen, but she's going to be prepared anyway. They ask why, and he response is simple. She tells them, "I am prepared to be wrong. Are you?" That made a LOT of sense to me.

If I decided to ignore the many red flags of our current social, and economical state and do nothing, that's my decision and I am gambeling on things not happening. If/when the bottom falls out and I chose not to prep..that would awful foolish...I can handle making mistakes and learning from them but I don't like it when I am foolish.

Foolish is a bitter drink.

I don't want to end up sitting in a hole somewhere thinking to myself that it wouldn't have been that much of a problem to store a few things. At first, I kind of panicked and spent more than I could afford to. Now, I'm taking the slow but steady approach, and it seems to be working. I also realized that there is no way to anticipate everything, and that there are going to be things that I really wished I hadn't overlooked, but I'm not going to lose sleep over them. I'm reading a lot, and trying to get a little of everything on the lists. After I got a little of everything, I just add to that. So far it seems to be working.